Practice Areas

Estate Planning

Estate planning ensures that your property passes to your chosen beneficiaries quickly and efficiently. An estate plan includes a package of documents – Trust, Will, Power of Attorney, and Advance Health Care Directive. The contents of those documents vary based on your family situation, assets, and goals. For large estates, we provide advanced estate planning techniques to minimize or eliminate taxes at death. Each estate plan we create is crafted to address your unique circumstances.

Trust Administration

A Trust requires administration when the person who created it dies. For spouses with a Revocable Trust, the Trust usually continues for the benefit of the surviving spouse; however, there are still important legal actions the surviving spouse must take to continue to use his or her property without restriction. In some instances, these actions must occur within nine months of the date of death. It is important to contact an estate planning attorney to find out what actions must be taken to minimize or eliminate taxes and ensure the smooth transfer of property to your surviving spouse or other beneficiaries.

Probate

We are experienced probate attorneys who understand the legal requirements of this complex legal proceeding. We provide experienced and effective guidance, advice, and representation to Executors throughout the probate proceeding, which typically takes one year or more to complete.

Business Formation and Taxation

We are experienced in forming all types of business entities, including LLCs, LLPs, Partnerships, S-Corporations, C-Corporations, Professional Corporations, and Family Limited Partnerships. We can explain the advantages of each type of business structure and help you select the entity that best fits your goals, while reducing taxes. In addition to our years of practical legal experience in the field of business formation and taxation, Emily J. Buchbinder and Peter L. Sanford possess Legal Masters Degrees in Taxation. Peter L. Sanford is a Certified Specialist in Taxation with the State Bar of California.